


beauty in the water, angel on the beach

by storhan



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Mermaid Harry, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6076929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storhan/pseuds/storhan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Why don’t you ever come down from that rock?” Niall suddenly asks, staring curiously up at Harry. “I’d like to know what the bottom half of you looks like.” A few seconds later his eyes widen and he breaks into nervous laughter. “That didn't come out right, sorry. You don’t have to, I just haven’t gone this long without seeing someone’s entire body.” He laughs again, shaking his head. “You know what, I’m just gonna stop talking.”</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“Why?” Harry finds himself asking. “I like it when you talk.”</i>
</p>
<p>Or, Harry's a mermaid who dreams of life on land and having legs, but what he doesn't expect is to fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	beauty in the water, angel on the beach

Harry peers out over the edge of the rock, just as an extra precaution, to make sure there’s no one in sight. It’s one of the more secluded parts of the beach, but Harry doesn’t want to take the chance of being seen by a human, since he was nearly spotted a few weeks ago. Luckily there's no one here this time, so he lifts himself up onto the rock, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes.

He uses his fingers to comb through his wet curls, humming along to a song he heard a human singing yesterday. Unfortunately he didn’t get the chance to see who was playing that beautiful song, because he had to stay hidden; he knows he should’ve just left when he heard the soft crooning, but there was something so captivating about the stranger’s voice that made Harry stay.

Harry could hear his father’s disapproving voice in his head as he lingered, reproving him for remaining in such close proximity to a human. Ever since he was a child, his father told him how he should not befriend a human, talk to a human or even be seen by a human because they “cannot be trusted.” But Harry’s always brushed off his father’s warnings, thinking it’s a bit outlandish to judge all humans when Harry’s never even  _ met _ one.

Unlike his father, Harry doesn’t find them intimidating or threatening - if anything, he finds them fascinating, and that’s why he’s been spending a bit more time on land than in the water. He knows he probably shouldn’t because his father is right about one thing: they’re different from Harry, and that’s why he chooses to remain hidden.

But that doesn’t stop Harry from marveling at the humans and their legs, watching them running and walking along the beach and wiggling their toes in the sand. The only downside is that they’re not as good at swimming as Harry is, but he still dreams about walking amongst them with a pair of legs of his own. Harry glances down at his bright green tail that matches the color of his eyes and sighs, because he knows it’s just that: a dream.

Harry brushes his semi-dry hair off one shoulder, still humming that song that won't seem to leave his brain. He wonders idly if that human will return today; he knows he wouldn’t be able to stay for long, but he would at least like to match a face with a voice.

There’s a sudden laugh that echoes in the distance, and Harry nearly falls off the rock with how high he jumps. He doesn’t even glance in the direction of the sound, just immediately ducks behind the rock, his heart beating wildly in his chest, hoping he wasn’t seen.

That’s the last thing Harry needs, to be seen, because neither of his parents know about his little excursions on land, and he knows how risky it is to be seen out of the water. That’s why he chose this part of the beach, because no humans usually venture out this far, but every now and then one will.

Harry can still hear the continued laughter, so he thinks he’s gone unnoticed, unless this is how humans greet mermaids and the image of Harry’s first interaction with a human has been wrong all along. He peeks over the edge of the rock again just to make sure he wasn’t seen, but no one looks in his direction, so he thinks he’s safe. But what he doesn’t expect is to see not one human, but  _ three _ .

He’s never seen this many before, at least not together anyway, and all he can do is watch in wonder as they walk to the center of the beach, pushing at each other’s shoulders, which causes all three of them to laugh. There’s a tall boy with short brown hair who carries a round object under his arm, another shorter, brunet boy with his hair swept off his forehead with strange drawings on his chest and arms, but Harry finds himself mesmerized by the blond boy standing in the middle of them.

He’s the one Harry heard laughing, and it’s just as beautiful of a sound as the song Harry heard the other day. His skin’s as bright as the sun, only covering the top half of his legs with a pair of red shorts. Harry’s heard his mother tell him the story of how it was love at first when she first saw his father, and as Harry’s heart pounds against his ribcage, he wonders if this is what that feels like. That's probably not true, but Harry's never felt so drawn to someone before.

“Niall,” the taller of the two brunet boys says, addressing the blond boy - Niall, Harry notes. “Why’d you bring us to this part of the beach? No one comes here.”

“Exactly, Liam,” Niall says, grabbing the round black and white object from under Liam’s arm and dropping it on the sand between them. “We have the whole beach to ourselves.” He gestures around the empty beach as if to prove his point, but he’s only met with an eyeroll from Liam.

“You do know  _ why _ , though, don’t you?” the boy with the side-swept hair questions.

“No,” Niall says slowly, raising a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Should I?”

“Oh come on, Louis, you don’t actually believe that story do you?” Liam chides.

“Yes, I do, because I’ve seen it,” Louis fires back.

“No, you haven’t,” Liam says.

“I know what I saw, Liam -”

“Will one of you please tell me what the hell Louis’ on about?” Niall interjects.

“Mermaids, Niall,” Louis says, and Harry’s throat instantly becomes tight as he tries not to panic. Has he been careless enough that someone has seen him? That’s impossible, he thinks, because no one comes to this part of the beach, he made sure of that, and he always leaves on the odd chance that someone does appear.

Harry’s stomach twists as he thinks about yesterday, how he lingered to hear the mysterious voice singing that beautiful melody. Did they see Harry? That’s also impossible, Harry thinks, because he hid behind the rock the entire time and there’s no way the stranger would’ve seen him. Harry didn’t see the stranger either, but he knows it couldn’t have been Louis. He doesn’t know what Louis saw, but he does know that it couldn't have been him.

It takes everything in him to keep still and remain quiet so he doesn’t make a noise and reveal himself. He almost thinks it’s pointless if they already know about the existence of mermaids, but it’s one thing to believe in mermaids and another thing to encounter one, and Harry doesn’t know how they would react to seeing him.

“What?” Niall says, shocked. If Harry’s heart was beating any faster, he’s pretty sure the three of them would be able to hear it.

“Some people - like Louis - believe that mermaids actually exist,” Liam supplies.

“Because they do,” Louis retorts.

“Really?” Niall asks, and the look on his face seems to be a mixture between fascination and curiosity. There’s also a small smile on his face, and a few of Harry’s fears slip away. Would Niall be as intrigued by Harry as Harry is by Niall?

“Don’t tell me you believe it too?” Liam says, looking at Niall the same way Harry’s father looks at him whenever he brings up the subject of humans.

Niall shrugs. “Yeah, why not? I mean, I haven’t seen one but I do believe they exist. There’s nothing that says they don’t.”

“Except logic,” Liam scoffs, and Harry glares at him from his hiding spot. He would very much like to prove him wrong, that mermaids really do exist, but if his father ever found out that he revealed himself to a human, he’d be stuck in the depths of the ocean for the rest of his life.

“Lads,” Louis interrupts, “did we come here to play footie or argue over the realness of mermaids?”

“I can do both,” Niall says, smirking at Louis as he jogs a few feet away from them, drawing a line in the sand with his toes. Niall stands across from Liam, in front of the black and white object still resting at their feet.

They begin kicking it around with their feet and Harry’s even more fascinated. He knows he should’ve left a long time ago, but he remains in his spot, transfixed by what’s happening right in front of his eyes. He’s never seen anything like it.

Harry watches Liam and Niall kick the object back and forth between them, following it with his eyes as it rolls past Louis every now and then, which causes the two of them to jump up and down excitedly and slap their palms together in celebration.

The game continues on like that, with each of them taking turns standing behind the line Louis drew in the sand, but Harry only keeps his attention on Niall. How the sweat on his skin begins to glisten under the sun, how he pushes his hair out of his eyes and how the fabric around his bum tightens whenever he bends over. And, yeah, maybe his father told him not to talk to humans, but he didn't say he couldn't admire from afar.

He’s so focused on Niall that he barely registers a round object flying towards him, and he has just has enough time to duck behind the rock so he’s not seen or hit. He sees the black and white shape lodge itself in a small crevice between the rock Harry’s hiding behind and the one next to it. He know he should  _ really _ leave now, but before he can stop himself, he reaches for it. It feels firm and leathery, almost like the skin of a shark, and he’s too mesmerized by the feel of it that he doesn’t realize Niall’s now standing in front of the rock, smiling warmly up at him.

So much for not being seen, he thinks, but all the warning bells going off in Harry’s mind are silenced when Niall speaks.

“Hi,” Niall says, friendly as ever, and this is not how Harry imagined his first encounter with a human would go, but the bottom half of his body is hidden by the rock, so he doesn’t get too hopeful. “Can I have that back?”

“What is it?” Harry finds himself asking.

Niall laughs and Harry doesn’t think he’s ever heard a more beautiful sound. “You’ve never seen a football before?” Harry shakes his head and Niall chuckles again. “You must not be from around here.”

Harry shakes his head again, replying quietly, “I'm not.”

“Well, you have good taste in beaches. I didn’t think anyone else came here,” Niall says.

“They don’t. I just come here to be alone,” Harry says, looking away from Niall briefly to give a melancholic glance toward the ocean before he turns back to Niall, who’s face has now fallen, any trace of that bright smile now gone.

“Oh, well, we can leave if we’re bothering you,” Niall says quietly.

“No, no, no,” Harry rushes out. “You’re not bothering me. I was just watching you play…”

“Football,” Niall finishes for him, his smile now returning and Harry smiles too.

“Football,” Harry echoes, trying the word out on his tongue. It’s unfamiliar, but he likes the sound of it. “No, you go ahead and continue with your… football, I was just leaving.”

“You don’t have to, you could come play with us, if you like,” Niall offers, and there’s a hopeful look in Niall’s eyes that makes it much more difficult for Harry to say no. But he wouldn’t be able to play even if he did say yes. It’s times like these that Harry hates being so different.

“I wish I could, but my parents are probably wondering where I went,” Harry says, trying and failing to hide the disappointment in his voice. He wishes he could at least stick around to watch Niall a bit more, but if he doesn’t get back soon, his father might get suspicious.

“Oh,” Niall says, his face falling slightly again, but he nods in understanding. “Well, hopefully I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah,” Harry says when he sees the hopeful glint in Niall’s eyes, “I’ll see you soon. Bye.” He raises a tentative hand to wave at Niall, who smiles and also raises a hand, muttering a goodbye, but neither of them make any move to leave.

“Oi, Nialler, quit flirting and bring back the ball!” Louis shouts from across the beach.

“Right,” Niall says, and Harry can see his cheeks burn red. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Harry says again, even though Niall’s already got his back turned to Harry and is jogging back toward his friends. Reluctantly, Harry finally leaves his perch on the rock, but he doesn’t miss the smile Niall sends him over his shoulder before he slips back into the water.

-

Harry returns to the ocean with a grin he can’t quite contain (not that he really wants to) and an extra glow to his skin that Harry knows is not from the sun. His body feels like it’s floating, like he’s somewhere high above the clouds rather than underwater.

If anyone’s noticed how giddy Harry is, they haven’t said, but Harry knows that’s about to change when he spots Zayn swimming toward him. He’s the only one who seems suspicious about Harry’s sudden cheerfulness and questions him about it.

“You seem extra happy today,” he says, surveying Harry. “Where have you been?”

“Nowhere,” Harry replies instantly, but he’s still wearing that smile on his face and he knows Zayn’s not convinced. He’s really not the best liar, and there’s no use in trying to lie to Zayn, because he’s probably the one person who could figure out what’s going on in Harry’s mind without him even saying a word.

They’ve known each other since they were babies; they grew up together and even learned how to swim together. They’ve spent their entire lives together and therefore Zayn’s developed quite the ability to tell when Harry’s lying. Harry doesn’t generally keep anything from Zayn, because he knows he can trust him, but the fact that he talked to a human and nearly revealed himself may be something that he has to keep to himself, no matter how happy he is.

“You look a bit more… tan than usual,” Zayn says, his eyes wandering down Harry’s torso, all they way down to his fins, “and your scales are shinier too. You’ve been on land haven’t you?”

Harry can see the realization flicker in Zayn’s eyes and he knows he’s been caught. His smile finally falters. “Fine, yes, but please don’t tell my dad.”

“What were you doing up there?” Zayn asks instead. His voice is stern, but he doesn’t sound mad, so Harry takes it as a good sign that he hasn’t run off to tell his father where he’s been. Zayn doesn’t despise humans as much as Harry’s father does, but he doesn’t like them either, and Harry knows he’s testing Zayn’s trust right now. He can see the internal debate going on in his mind, and he’s just glad that Zayn is still right in front of him. “Were there any humans there?”

“Yes,” Harry says truthfully. “There were three of them, and they were kicking around this thing called a football, with their  _ feet _ ! It was amazing, Zayn, you should see it sometime.”

“Are you being serious right now?” Zayn asks, his tone reminiscent of the time Harry was a child and his mother wouldn’t let him swim out into open water yet. “Humans are dangerous, Harry. What if one of them saw you?”

Harry looks away from Zayn for a moment, hesitating before he says, “Well…”

Zayn’s eyes widen. “Harry! I can’t believe you, how could you be so reckless?”

“Relax, Z,  they didn’t see…  _ all _ of me,” Harry says, motioning vaguely to the lower half of his body.

Zayn seems to visibly relax, if only the slightest. “But what if they did? Listen, Harry, nothing good can come from any of them finding out what you are.”

Harry just shrugs. “I heard them talking about mermaids, Zayn, and how they believed in them. I don’t think it’d be that big of a deal if they found out I was one?”

He knows it is a big deal, no matter what they believe, it would always be a big deal, but he’s trying to get Zayn to reason with him in any way he can. It’s not going as well as he had hoped, but he can still see that trace of trust behind his eyes that tells him he won’t tell his parents, and that's all that matters.

“Yes it would be, Harry! Why can’t you see that?” Zayn says, now placing his hands on Harry’s shoulders, like he’s trying to get Harry to understand how dangerous it is to be that close to a human, let alone three of them.

Harry frowns. “I was just watching them - I was hiding I swear,” he adds when he sees the disbelieving look on Zayn’s face, “but then one of them kicked the football towards me and I picked it up, but before I could hide again, Niall was already standing in front of me, and we talked. He was  _ nice _ , Zayn.”

“Wait,” Zayn says slowly. “You  _ talked _ to one of them?”

“Yes, I did,” Harry admits.

“Harry,” Zayn starts, pinching the bridge of his nose, “we only have two rules: don’t talk to humans, and don’t be seen by humans, and you’ve already broken both of them - in one day!”

Harry’s eyes narrow. “When did you turn into my father?”

Zayn sighs. “I’m just looking out for you,” he says softly, and Harry appreciates it, he really does, because he's always considered Zayn to be the brother he never had, but right now he needs a friend, not an overprotective sibling.

“I don't need you, I can look out for myself,” Harry says fiercely and he regrets it the second it leaves his mouth when he sees the hurt look flash across Zayn’s face. He opens his mouth to apologize, but Zayn’s the first to speak.

“I see,” Zayn says stoically. “Well, I won’t stand in your way if you want to go back to - to Niall and risk getting yourself caught.”

“Zayn,” Harry pleads, but Zayn’s already swimming away.

“It’s fine, Harry, do whatever you want,” he says over his shoulder and then he’s gone.

-

Harry knows he shouldn’t be here, especially after everything that happened yesterday, but he still feels drawn here, almost like there’s a need to be here. He’s not sure why, because the beach is deserted again, like always. There’s no guarantee that Niall would even show up again, but there’s a small part of Harry that clings onto that small sliver of hope.

He also hopes this is worth it, being here, because Zayn still won’t talk to him, even though he’s tried multiple times to apologize. But he takes it as a good sign that he hasn’t told his father about his whereabouts. He just needs some time, Harry tells himself. He’ll come around eventually.

Despite everything, Harry still wishes Zayn was with him here now; he knows if Zayn just gave being on land a try, he’d understand why Harry spends a majority of his time here. And maybe he’d get to meet Niall. Harry sighs at the thought, and his mind drifts back to Niall, how his heart started beating faster when he first saw him, and how he felt a certain magnetism to him before he even knew his name.

He wishes he could talk to Zayn about this, just to see if it’s all in his head or not.

He’s pulled from his thoughts when he hears a certain distinct laugh again, and this would usually be the point where he ducks behind the rock, but he remains somewhat visible, just enough to see if Niall might notice him.

He’s with Louis and Liam, who’s carrying the football under his arm again. None of them seem to notice Harry, but he can’t be sure because his eyes are focused solely on Niall, who’s showing off just as much skin as he was yesterday. This time he’s wearing a white pair of shorts that seem to make his skin glow even more - Harry didn’t think that was possible.

Liam says something that Harry doesn’t hear, but it causes Niall to laugh, and suddenly there’s a warmth in Harry’s stomach that spreads up through his chest. He knows it’s only been a day, but it feels like forever since he’s heard it, and it still sounds as lovely as ever.

“Hey, Niall, there’s your new  _ friend _ ,” Louis says, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and nudging Niall in the stomach with his elbow.

“Ow,” Niall says, pushing Louis’ arm away. “Who are you talking about?”

“Him,” Louis says, and Harry’s eyes widen when he sees Louis pointing right at him, and he instinctively ducks his head behind the rock, but rises back up slowly when he sees the soft smile on Niall’s face. He waves timidly at Niall, because they’re all  _ staring _ at him and he’s not sure what else to do, but Niall waves back and there’s a pinkness to his cheeks that Harry isn’t sure is from the sun or something else.

“Aw, does our Nialler have a crush?” Louis jeers.

“Fuck off,” Niall says, but he’s smiling as he walks over, and Harry’s heart starts beating even faster against his ribcage. Harry’s throat already feels tight, and he hopes he’s still able to talk. “Hi,” Niall says softly when he’s close enough.

“Hi,” Harry says, trying to remain as calm as possible, but he doesn’t think he’s doing a very good job at it, because Niall’s standing right in front of him.  _ Again _ .

“So,” Niall starts, glancing down at his feet as he rubs nervously at the back of his neck, “I realized after you left yesterday that I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Niall.”

“I know,” Harry says. There’s a slight look of confusion on Niall’s face and then it occurs to Harry that Niall didn’t know he heard Niall’s name when he was hiding behind the rock, eavesdropping. “Er, I mean - nice to meet you, Niall. I’m Harry.”

“Well, Harry,” Niall says, and Harry’s already in love with the way Niall says his name, “me and my mates were gonna play some football, would you like to join us?”

The offer takes Harry by surprise for many reasons, but mostly because he’s a bit shocked at the whole niceness of it (not that he ever doubted that humans could be nice, despite whatever his father says). But there’s a brief, disheartening moment when he realizes that Niall doesn’t know what Harry is, and probably just thinks he’s another human. Harry tries to hide a frown. “No thanks.”

Niall, however, does frown. “Are you sure? We could always use another player. You could be on my team.”

Harry musters a small smile. “That sounds nice, but I don’t know how to play.”

Niall’s frown disappears as quickly as it had appeared. “I’ll teach you, c’mon,” he says, motioning for Harry to come down from the rock.

“No!” Harry says abruptly, and he must’ve said it a bit too loud because he can see Liam and Louis raise their heads in his direction. “I - I mean, that’s okay, I’ll just watch you.”

Niall eyes him curiously, but he doesn’t press any farther, and for that, Harry’s thankful. “Alright,” he says and he sounds slightly disappointed, but he’s smiling nonetheless. “Well, we could always use a cheerleader,” he adds, with the slightest hint of a smirk.

“A cheerleader? What’s that?” Harry asks.

Niall chuckles softly. “You really aren’t from around here, are you?” Harry shakes his head. “Then you can just watch, yeah?”

Harry just nods as Niall jogs back over to Liam and Louis, who have already set up the beach like they had yesterday, and are now waiting impatiently for Niall. It’s the same as yesterday, but it feels different to Harry because he doesn’t have to hide behind the rock to watch. This time, Niall actually  _ wants _ him to watch.

It’s still just as fascinating to watch, Harry thinks, even though he doesn’t know the first thing about football. But that doesn’t stop him from clapping and cheering along when Liam and Niall manage to kick the ball past Louis. Harry still feels the urge to duck back behind the rock whenever Niall glances his way, but there’s always a bright smile on his face and Harry kind of forgets how to breathe.

After that, Harry kind of zones out, forgetting for a while that Liam and Louis are even there, that him and Niall aren’t the only ones on the beach. Harry wishes he could just run out onto the sand and join them, even though he has no idea how to play football. But then he remembers the tail attached to the lower half of his body, and his mind drifts to an alternate life where he has legs and him and Niall are walking down the beach hand in hand.

He pushes the thought from his mind just as Louis gives a particularly hard kick to the ball and Harry dives just in time to avoid having the ball make contact with the side of his head.

“Sorry, mate,” Louis says sincerely, even though he looks like he’s trying to hold back a smirk. “But if Niall here was paying attention -”

“I was!” Niall says indignantly, throwing his arms up in protest. “You’re just a horrible footie player.”

Louis scoffs. “Don’t insult me, Niall.”

Niall ignores him and instead turns to look at Harry, who’s now half hiding behind the rock with a slightly accelerated heart rate. “You okay, Harry? Louis didn’t hit you, did he?” Harry gives a quick shake of his head and Niall looks relieved. “Sorry, he’s usually not this terrible.” Niall ignores Louis’ squawk of indignation. “But you’re sure you’re okay?”

Harry nods and Louis continues to protest against Niall and defend his football skills, intermixed with a few more occasional muttered apologies to Harry. He wonders if now would be a good time to leave, but he doesn’t want to go without saying goodbye to Niall.

He glances over at Liam who’s looking down at a rectangular device that Harry’s seen many humans holding and refer to as a phone. Liam sighs as he tucks it back into his pocket and walks over to Louis and Niall, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Sorry to interrupt lads, but I have to go.”

“What? Why?” Louis splutters.

“Nicola just texted me and she needs a sitter,” Liam explains.

“You know, ever since you became an uncle you never have time for us anymore,” Louis says, adopting a look of mock hurt on his face.

“It’s not my fault that my nephew is cuter than you.” Liam grins and Louis shoves at him playfully. “See you later, Nialler.”

“Bye,” Niall says, as they all watch Liam disappear from the beach.

It’s silent for a moment before Louis finally says, “I think I’m gonna call it a day too.”

“Why? You were the one who wanted to come here,” Niall says.

“No, that was you, and I think it was pretty obvious why,” Louis says, glancing pointedly at Harry. His cheeks burn a nice shade of red; he hasn’t said a word in so long, Harry thought that maybe they forgot he was even there. “And I don’t want to stick around to watch you make heart eyes at lover boy over there.”

Niall looks at a loss for words, and that’s when the realization starts to settle in for Harry. Did Niall really come back just to see him? That’s probably not true, but Harry's stomach still flips at the thought.

“I’m not making heart eyes at anyone,” Niall says, his voice low, like he’s trying not to let Harry hear.

Louis laughs, patting Niall on the shoulder. “Niall, you’ve got to be the worst liar I’ve ever met,” he says, and before Niall has the chance to respond, Louis’ gone.

Niall turns back around to face Harry. “Well, it looks like it’s just you and me now.”

“Yeah,” Harry says a bit awkwardly, unsure of how to fill the silence of the suddenly empty beach.

“I can, uh, leave if you want to be alone,” Niall says, pointing a thumb over his shoulder where Liam and Louis have already departed the beach. He looks just as nervous as Harry does.

“No,” Harry says quickly, because the last thing he wants is for Niall to leave. “I like the company.”

The smile Harry receives is so warm, it feels like he’s staring straight into the sun. “I guess I could stick around then,” Niall says, taking a few tentative steps toward Harry. “So, what do you usually do when you’re here alone?”

Harry shrugs. “Nothing, really. Just stare out at the water, mostly.”

“Mind if I join you?” Niall asks, his hand resting on the rock like he’s waiting for Harry’s permission before he climbs up.

“Not at all.” Harry offers a smile that Niall easily returns before he begins scaling the rock. When Harry sees him making his way up the other side of the rock that he’s currently sitting on, he panics. “Not here, there,” he says, pointing to rock right below his. It’s just low enough that he can still sit next to Niall, but can also conceal his tail.

Niall looks a bit confused but then he says, “Oh, I get it, that’s your spot. Right, sorry.” He stops climbing and throws a leg out so he can step onto the rock Harry pointed out. Harry finds his eyes drawn down to Niall’s legs, and he knows he shouldn’t stare, but he can’t help it - he’s never seen a pair up this close before. His eyes fix upon a jagged scar that runs down his left knee. “What are you - oh, that.”

Harry quickly averts his eyes, embarrassed that he’s been caught staring, but he glances back up to see Niall also looking down at the scar with an almost wistful expression on his face. “How’d you get it?” Harry asks quietly.

“I fell off my bike when I was seven,” Niall says and Harry nods along so he doesn’t give away the fact that he has no idea what a “bike” is. “Louis dared me to try this stupid trick he found on the internet and obviously it didn’t turn out so well. I landed on my knee and it’s never really been the same since, even after all the surgeries.”

Harry frowns slightly. “He doesn’t sound like a very good friend.”

Niall laughs softly. “I know it might seem that way, but I’ve known Louis for years and he’s a good guy,” Niall says and before Harry knows it, Niall’s launching into the story of how he met Louis when he was five, on his first day of school and how he met Liam five years later through Louis.

He tells Harry how he moved here from Ireland when he was one and how he only has one brother, but he considers Liam and Louis to be his long lost brothers. He also tells Harry how he goes to this place called uni and plays an instrument called a guitar and even sings occasionally. Harry still doesn’t understand anything Niall is talking about, but he likes watching the way Niall’s face lights up when he talks about the things he enjoys.

“What about you? Where are you from?” Niall asks, and it’s only when he pauses for an answer that Harry realizes Niall’s been the one talking most of the time.

“Um,” Harry hesitates, “I can’t really tell you.”

Niall studies him curiously for a moment before he says, “Okay, well, why don’t you tell me one thing about yourself that you  _ can _ tell me?”

Harry racks his brain for something, any little detail he can tell Niall about himself, but he finds it hard to concentrate when Niall’s staring up at him so patiently that all Harry can think about is Niall. “I like you,” he blurts, and he quickly covers his mouth when he realizes what just came out of his mouth. He hopes he can pass it off as a joke, because he doesn’t want it to sound too forward so he doesn’t scare Niall away (if Niall finding out that Harry’s a mermaid doesn’t do that first).

He breaths a small sigh of relief when Niall laughs softly. “I like you too,” he says with a genuine smile.

They fall back into conversation after that - well, Niall does, telling Harry more stories from his childhood and more stupid things Louis’ made him do that luckily haven’t resulted in injury but maybe a bad hangover or two, but Harry only hears half of it, instead focusing on the way Niall’s lips move when he speaks and the way he moves his hands animatedly when he really gets into telling a story.

Harry doesn’t know how many stories later it is, but eventually Niall goes quiet, staring out at the ocean, but Harry only stares at Niall.

“Beautiful sunset isn’t it?” Niall says quietly.

“Yeah,” Harry agrees, until he realizes what Niall just said. He quickly turns his head around to see that the sky has changed from it’s usual blue to a deep pink. “I - I have to go,” he stammers, already thinking of ways he can slip back into the water unnoticed.

“Oh,” Niall says, a visible frown taking over his features. “Yeah, I should probably go too, it’s getting late.” Harry makes like he’s about to leave, even though he’s really just going to hide until Niall leaves, but then he hears Niall clear his throat and turns back to face Niall who’s looking at him anxiously. “Can I get your number?” He holds out in front of him what Harry thinks is a phone. He stares between the object in Niall’s hand and his face, perplexed. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen a phone before?” Niall laughs.

“I have,” Harry says, “I just don’t have one.”

“Right, of course,” Niall says, tucking his phone back into his pocket and climbing down the rock. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around then?”

“Yeah,” Harry says. “You will.”

-

It wasn’t exactly a promise, but Harry does return the next day. Niall didn’t say when he’d see Harry again, but naturally, Harry hopes it’s today.

He knows he shouldn’t be coming here as often as he is, so his parents don’t get suspicious. They don’t seem to be, but Zayn still disapproves of his daily visits on land, and he came home to a barrage of questions, and while he’s glad Zayn is still somewhat speaking to him, he wishes he would lighten up a bit. He feels a bit suffocated with all of Zayn’s questioning and hovering, like he’s trying to keep Harry from swimming back to the surface. He’s not a child anymore, he can look out for himself.

He shakes his head, pushing any and all thoughts of Zayn from his mind, instead choosing to focus on the prospect of possibly seeing Niall again. He makes himself comfortable while trying to remain hidden, but still revealing enough of himself that if Niall were to show up he could spot him easily.

He waits patiently for what feels like an hour before he finally hears a noise. Harry ducks his head just in case, and the first thing he sees is a dog - a very  _ big _ dog. He waits for a human to follow behind, and he’s pleasantly surprised when he sees Niall trailing lazily behind as the dog runs circles around the beach.

Harry slowly raises his head back up as Niall throws a ball across the beach, landing in the sand next to the rock Harry's sitting on. The dog chases after it and picks it up with its mouth, but drops it in favor of sniffing around the rock. Harry can feel his heart pounding in his chest as the dog comes closer. He quickly glances at Niall, hoping that Niall won’t follow him, but Niall doesn’t seem to have noticed him yet as he reaches for the discarded ball.

“Watson, come here,” Niall says, whistling. Watson doesn’t respond to the command and Harry shrieks when he suddenly feels a wet nose sniffing at the end of his fin. Niall nearly falls back into the sand when he looks up and sees Harry. “Jesus, Harry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Um, your dog is, um -”

“Watson, come here,” Niall repeats, more firmly this time, and Watson retreats, skipping back toward Niall as his tail wags behind him. “Sorry, he’s very, uh, friendly.”

“It’s okay,” Harry says honestly. “I would hope your dog would be as friendly as you.”

Niall laughs. “I would hope so too, but he’s not mine, though.”

Harry’s eyes widen and he whispers, “You didn’t steal him did you?”

Niall laughs again, a full-bodied laugh that causes him to throw his head back, allowing Harry to admire the thick column of his throat. “No, this is Liam’s dog.”

“You stole your best friend’s dog?” Harry asks and he hadn’t meant to make Niall laugh again, but he grins to himself when he does, feeling slightly proud of himself for eliciting such a beautiful sound from him.

“No, I’m just taking him for a walk while Liam’s in class,” Niall says, looking away for a moment before he turns back to Harry, his voice much quieter when he says, “and I kind of wanted to see you again.”

Harry has to fight to contain the grin that’s threatening to take over his face. “Really?” he asks dumbly and Niall nods. “I wanted to see you too.”

They hold eye contact for a few seconds before Watson begins nudging at Niall’s hand, the one that’s holding the ball. He tears his eyes away from Harry’s to glance down at Watson who’s looking up at him expectantly with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and his tail still wagging behind him.

“Right, sorry,” Niall mutters before he throws the ball, Watson nearly tripping over his long legs to chase after it. He quickly brings it back to Niall who throws it again. It goes on like that for a while before Niall turns back to Harry and holds out his hand, offering the ball to him. “Would you like to throw it?”

“Um,” Harry hesitates, but Niall’s already climbing up the rock and he doesn’t think Niall’s giving him much of a choice in the matter.

“Here,” Niall says once he’s close enough, presenting the ball to Harry. He stares at it for a moment before looking back at Niall, and he reaches out to take the ball from Niall when he sees the encouragement behind his bright blue eyes.

It feels a bit slimy in his hand and there’s some sand sticking to it, but he doesn’t hang onto it for long, throwing it across the beach and watching Watson run after it before bringing it back and dropping it at Niall’s feet. Niall picks it back up and hands it over to Harry again, who takes it less reluctantly this time. He throws it again, and he can feel a smile tugging at his lips when he watches Watson race after it; he’s actually having  _ fun _ .

Niall hands him the ball for a third time, and when Harry grabs for it, the tips of his fingers brush the palm of Niall’s hand. It’s only the slightest of touches, but it still sends a spark shooting down Harry’s spine all the same. There’s a brief moment where something flashes across Niall’s eyes and Harry thinks he felt it too, but he seems to brush it off.

Harry doesn’t though, and he’s curious if that happens every time he touches a human, or just Niall. He throws the ball for Watson again, but it’s only a half-hearted throw because his mind is still spinning with the fact that that spark has to  _ mean _ something, he just doesn’t know what, yet.

“Why don’t you ever come down from that rock?” Niall suddenly asks, staring curiously up at Harry. In the distance he can see Watson has given up playing fetch in favor of digging a hole in the sand. “I’d like to know what the bottom half of you looks like.” A few seconds later his eyes widen and he breaks into nervous laughter. “That didn't come out right, sorry. You don’t have to, I just haven’t gone this long without seeing someone’s entire body.” He laughs again, shaking his head. “You know what, I’m just gonna stop talking.”

“Why?” Harry finds himself asking. “I like it when you talk.”

“You do?”

Harry nods. “Yeah.”

Niall smiles a bit shyly before he says, “I like it when you talk too.”

There’s another moment of silence between them where they just smile at each other before  Harry hears a buzzing coming from Niall’s pocket. He takes out his phone and glances at it, his face falling slightly as he reads whatever’s on the screen. “It’s Liam,” he tells Harry. “I should probably take his dog back, but I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Harry echoes, like a promise.

-

When Harry comes back the next day, he hears voices on the beach, but he instantly recognizes them as Liam and Louis’. He rises up onto the rock, a grin already creeping onto his face, but it’s gone just as fast as it had appeared when he doesn’t see Niall with them.

They’ve got the football with them again, idly passing it back and forth between the both of them as they talk. Then Louis stops the ball with his foot when he notices Harry, a slight upturn to his mouth as he nudges Liam in the stomach with his elbow.

“We’ve got company,” Louis says, nodding his head in Harry’s direction. When Liam turns around, Harry waves nervously.

“Hi,” he says quietly.

“Hey, Harry,” Liam says. “If you’re looking for Niall, he’s not here.”

“Oh?” Harry says, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice. “Where is he?”

“Class,” Louis supplies.

“Okay, well, I’ll just -” Harry says, gesturing vaguely over his shoulder, because he’s not sure what else to do. He supposes he could stick around and see if Niall does happen to show up later, but he also figures he could wait until tomorrow, maybe Niall would be alone then.

“It was nice to see you again, Harry,” Liam says and Harry smiles. Louis offers a quiet goodbye and Harry waves at the both of them before he swims away.

-

“I’m telling you, Niall, he’s a mermaid!” is the first thing Harry hears when he first emerges onto the beach. The voice sounds hushed, like it doesn’t want to be overheard even though there’s no one else on the beach, but he can still tell it’s Louis’ voice.

His heart starts beating wildly in his chest at the word “mermaid” and hopes by some miracle that they’re not talking about him. Maybe they're just having another friendly banter about the existence of mermaids again, Harry reasons, but even he doesn't believe that. All he can do is close his eyes, listen, and  _ hope _ .

“What are you talking about? He is not,” Niall says disbelievingly.

“I’m serious. You know that mermaid I saw -”

“The one you never shut up about?” Niall cuts in impatiently.

“Yes,” Louis says shortly. “It’s him, Niall, I know it.”

“You’re mental,” Niall says, and Harry really wishes he knew what or who they were talking about. In the back of his mind he knows it's him, but he just hopes Niall doesn't believe him, because he can't stand the thought of never seeing Niall again.

“Think about it, Niall, you’ve never seen the lower half of his body, how do you know he’s not hiding a tail or fins or scales?” Louis questions and Harry’s heart falls into his stomach. There's no doubt now that they're talking about him. He knows he should've left that first day after he heard voices, and now he's paying the ultimate price: Niall’ll never talk to him again and will no doubt tell every human about the existence of mermaids.

“Yeah, but he could also be hiding legs, Louis. Do you know how insane you sound?” Niall asks, and there's a small part of Harry that's glad Niall's not believing all of this, but it doesn't change the fact that it's all true and it'd only be a matter of time before Niall found out. It might as well be sooner rather than later, before Harry got too attached.

“C’mon, Niall, you believe in mermaids,” Louis says.

“I said it was  _ possible _ that they exist, there's no proof that they do or don't,” Niall replies.

“How about now?” Louis asks, and that's when Harry decides to chance a glance over the rock and he sees Louis holding out his phone in front of Niall, and Harry can't see what Niall's seeing, but he  _ can _ see the way all the color drains from Niall's face.

“When did you take that?” Niall asks, his voice suddenly much quieter, and Harry's not sure what to make of that.

“Yesterday,” Louis says. He's tucked his phone back into his pocket but Niall’s still staring blankly in front of him, like he's trying to absorb all this new information. This would be a good time to leave, Harry thinks, because it would only make things worse if he was seen, but there's still that tiny, hopeful part of him that thinks Niall won't care if he doesn't have legs.

“And - And that's Harry?” Niall asks, still sounding slightly dumbfounded, and Harry never thought he would hate Niall saying his name more than he does right now. He hates that this is how Niall has to find out, he would've told Niall eventually when it was the right time, but deep down Harry knows it never would've been the right time.

“You and I both know it is, mate,” Louis says, patting at Niall's shoulder before he gives it a squeeze.

“I can't believe he didn't tell me,” Niall says, and it's the disappointed look on Niall's face that proves to be too much for Harry, and he has to swim away.

-

Harry doesn’t return to the beach, and neither does Niall, he assumes. He doesn’t blame him, though, because he probably wouldn’t either. It’s for the best, Harry reminds himself, because both his father and Zayn warned him about how something like this might end and now Harry has to admit that they were both right. Niall probably never wants to see or speak to him again, so the only thing Harry can do is give him that.

He still hasn’t told either of his parents about his adventures on land and he doesn’t plan to, doesn’t see the point, really, when he’s never going back. His father was right anyway: there’s nothing for him on land.

He tries to keep his mind off of Niall, but it’s not as easy as he thought it would be, a bright smile and blond hair creeping into his mind every now and then. He even finds himself humming along to that one song he heard that day on the beach, and he has to stop himself because he doesn’t want any reminder of anything human, but that doesn’t stop the sinking feeling he gets in his stomach when he realizes that he’ll never find out who the voice belonged to.

Or see Niall again, but he only has himself to blame for that.

Zayn on the other hand seems to be happy that Harry has stopped going to the beach and Harry has to hear the inevitable  _ I told you so _ , but Harry can still tell he’s worried about him when Harry’s smiles only seem half-hearted.

“Maybe you should go back,” Zayn suggests, two days after Harry's stopped going to the beach. “Just this once.”

“Why? I thought you'd be happy that I'm never going back there. I thought that's what you wanted?” Harry says bitterly.

“It is, but I don't like seeing you this upset. Maybe if you went up there one more time, it might give you closure,” Zayn says, placing a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder.

“I don't need closure,” Harry says, knocking Zayn's hand off of his shoulder and swimming away so he doesn't have to hear anymore of what Zayn thinks he needs. The only thing he  _ needs _ is to forget that any of this ever happened.

-

After four days of Harry being unable to remove any trace of Niall from his mind, he decides that Zayn might be right and maybe returning to the beach one last time might be a good thing, to at least say goodbye so he can put Niall out of his mind forever.

It’s only been a couple of days but it feels like it’s been ages since he’s been here, and Harry hates how he still feels drawn here somehow - maybe to say goodbye or for some other reason, but all Harry knows is that he isn’t going to see Niall. But there’s still a small part of him that actually  _ does _ want to see Niall, but he’s afraid of what Niall might say, or how Niall may look at him now that he knows the truth.

All these thoughts start running through his head and he realizes that maybe this was a bad idea after all, and he’s about to leave when he hears a familiar voice call his name.

“Harry?” Niall says softly, and Harry's a bit surprised when he looks up and sees a smile gracing Niall's face. “Where have you been? I haven't seen you for a few days.”

To say Harry is confused would be an understatement, he's not sure why Niall's all happy to see him when a few days ago he wasn't, and Harry has to wonder if he dreamt the whole thing. Maybe he did - it did feel like a nightmare. “I didn't think I'd see you here,” he says instead, his voice sounding detached.

Niall's eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you guys a couple days ago, and I heard what Louis said,” Harry says, rather than letting Niall try to figure it out for himself. He doesn't want to be here any longer than he has to, it just hurts too much to see the confused look on Niall's face.

“What -” Niall begins, but stops when the realization crosses his face. “You heard that?”

Harry nods. “Now you know what I am and you never want to see me again, I get it.”

Niall's face falls, and he looks hurt. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you looked mad,” Harry says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Part of him doesn't even want to listen, but Harry's here for closure, so he lets Niall explain.

“I wasn't mad, I was in shock,” Niall says. “I was just disappointed that I had to learn about it from Louis and not you. Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

Harry looks away for a moment, his voice going quiet as he says, “I was afraid you'd run away.”

“I would never,” Niall says, his voice soft but firm as he takes a few steps closer to Harry. Niall offers a smile to show his sincerity and Harry finds himself smiling too, but only a little bit. “May I join you?” Niall asks, motioning towards the rock Harry's sitting on, and for the first time Harry doesn't panic, just nods before he can think about it.

Niall climbs up onto the rock, and Harry can feel his heart pounding against his chest as Niall sits less than a foot away from him. He's much closer this time, and Harry can properly admire how pretty Niall is. He can see a few freckles scattered across his cheeks and neck, and his eyes seem even bluer up close.

“Hi,” Niall says.

“Hi,” Harry says dumbly, because he's not really sure what else to say, everything that he'd been planning to say to Niall suddenly leaving his brain.

“So, does this mean I can see the bottom half of your body now?” Niall asks and Harry laughs softly.

“I guess so,” Harry says, heaving himself higher up on the rock, ignoring every instinct in his body and the voice inside his head that's telling him this might be a bad idea, but Niall already knows and he came back anyway.

“Wow,” Niall breathes, staring down at Harry's bright green tail, Harry flapping it self-consciously under Niall's scrutiny. It feels weird, revealing himself to a human, but he's glad he can finally be himself and doesn't have to hide anything from Niall anymore. “It's beautiful.”

Harry ducks his head so he can hide the flush on his cheeks. “Thanks,” he mutters. They’re silent for a moment, only the sound of the waves crashing against the beach can be heard. “I didn’t think you’d come back,” Harry admits quietly.

“Of course I would,” Niall says. “I just needed time to process all of this” - he motions vaguely to Harry’s tail - “I mean, I always had a feeling mermaids were real, but it’s different when you actually see one, you know? And once I finally wrapped my head around the fact that you were one, I realized that I like you too much to stay away.”

Harry smiles. “I’m glad you didn’t,” he says, resting his hand on the smooth surface of the rock, leaning in infinitesimally closer to Niall.

“Me too,” Niall says, and then Harry feels a hand cover his and it sends another spark shooting down his spine as a warmth spreads across his chest. Niall glances down to Harry’s chest, and he feels disconcerted when Niall’s eyes widen. “Is that supposed to happen?”

“What?” Harry asks, tipping his chin down to look at his chest to find it glowing, right over his heart. “Oh. I don’t know. I’ve never seen that happen before.” He’s never seen or heard of anything like it, and he’s not sure what it means. He watches the light fade from his chest as Niall removes his hand from his, and he has to fight off a frown because he misses the feeling already.

-

“What’s it like having legs?” Harry asks, trying not to think about how he wants to reach out his fingers and touch Niall’s hand again to see if his chest lights up the same way it did yesterday. He hasn’t stopped thinking about it and what it’s supposed to mean -  _ if _ it means anything.

“Not that great,” Niall says quietly, tracing the scar on his knee and Harry remembers the story Niall told him of how he got it. Harry doesn’t know if Niall says it to be cautionary or if it’s just the truth, but it doesn’t stop Harry from still wanting a pair of his own. He wouldn’t let one scar on his knee stop him from exploring the world; certainly it must be more interesting the ocean that never changes.

“That can’t be true,” Harry replies.

Niall shrugs. “Maybe not, but I’ve had legs all my life, so they don’t seem all that special, to me anyway,” he says, turning his head to face Harry. “What’s it like having a tail? I bet you could out-swim me anyday.”

Harry finds himself laughing. “Oh, I definitely could.”

“I'm not really that great of a swimmer,” Niall admits, drawing unidentifiable shapes onto the surface of the rock next to him.

“Maybe I could teach you sometime?” Harry offers.

Niall smiles, his eyes finding Harry's. “I'd like that.”

They're sitting much closer this time and Harry finally gets an even better chance to admire Niall up close. He marvels at Niall’s profile when he looks out over the water, the way his eyes go soft whenever they meet Harry’s and Harry finds his own eyes drawn down to Niall’s lips as he continues to talk.

It takes a full minute before Harry realizes that Niall’s stopped talking and it’s gone silent between them, and it takes another few seconds for Harry to register Niall leaning in ever-so-slowly. Harry’s heart is beating so hard against his chest he can hear it in his ears, and Niall’s only a few inches from his face, he can't seem to remember how to breathe - but then Niall pulls away when there’s a sudden buzzing noise coming from his pocket.

Niall looks apologetic as he grabs his phone and glances down at it, sighing as he looks back up at Harry and says, “I'm really sorry, but I have to go.” When he sees the way Harry's face falls he adds, “I promise I wouldn't leave you if I didn't have to. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Harry says, and this time it's a promise.

-

Harry can see Zayn eyeing him suspiciously, but he knows it's not because he's been on land again. Zayn's long since given up trying to convince Harry that it's a bad idea altogether, even though he's the one who suggested Harry go back there anyway, and just settles for a disapproving glare, but not today.

Harry's been in a state somewhere between shock and bliss since he got back from the beach. If they hadn't been interrupted, Niall would've  _ kissed _ him, but he still feels a lingering sense of exhilaration as if they actually had. If he closes his eyes, he can almost imagine the phantom feeling of Niall’s lips, but he’s only met with disappointment when he opens his eyes again and remembers.

Maybe it won’t be just a fantasy tomorrow, Harry hopes.

“You okay?” Zayn asks, breaking Harry out of his reverie. “You seem a bit -”

“Niall tried to kiss me,” Harry blurts.

“What?” Zayn nearly shouts. “Are you crazy?” Harry can see the reproving look in Zayn’s eyes because he knows how much he still disapproves of Harry spending so much time with a human (and he still uses any chance he gets to reprimand Harry for it), but he could only imagine what would be going through Zayn’s mind if he actually had kissed Niall. He can tell Zayn’s holding back from giving Harry another lecture, but at this point they both know that Harry isn’t going to listen. Obviously Zayn isn’t the first person Harry would want to talk to about this, but he’s the only one he  _ can _ tell, and he feels like if he doesn’t talk to someone about this he might explode.

“You don’t understand, Zayn, I really like him and I think he likes me too,” Harry says, looking away from Zayn as he lowers his voice, “and I can’t explain it, but I think we’re meant to be.”

Zayn eyes him curiously, seemingly interested now. “What do you mean?”

Harry takes a deep breath before he answers, hoping it doesn't sound as crazy as he thinks it does. “Well, the first time I saw him it was like I couldn’t look away, and then there was like a… spark when his fingers brushed my palm, and yesterday when he touched my hand my chest, like, glowed.”

Zayn just stares at him in shock, his eyes unblinking as his mouth hangs open. “Oh my god.”

“What?” Harry asks worriedly.

“I think you just met your true love,” Zayn says, before shaking his head quickly. “But that’s impossible, your true love can’t be a human. Are you sure it happened when you touched Niall?”

“Yes I’m sure, now what are you talking about?” Harry rushes out, his heart beating erratically in his chest. “What do you mean ‘true love’?”

“Harry, your  _ tail _ is supposed to glow, not your heart. That only happens when your true love is a human, but that’s unheard of,” Zayn explains, glancing down at Harry’s chest, right where his heart is, “but I guess it’s not anymore.”

Harry’s silent for a moment, too in shock to speak. “What?” he finally says, because it’s the only thing he can say. He can’t seem to focus on anything else when the words  _ true love _ are swimming around his brain.

“Talk to your mum about it, I’m sure she knows more about it than I do,” Zayn says.

-

So that’s exactly what Harry does, because he wants some answers for the things that have been happening to him since he first saw Niall. He’s just not sure how to bring the subject up; he’s been working up the courage to approach his mum for the better part of an hour now, and he thinks if he doesn’t talk to her now, he probably never will.

“Hey, mum?” Harry asks quietly, and Anne looks over her shoulder, smiling when she sees it’s Harry. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she says, turning around to fully face Harry. “What is it?”

“What was it like when you met dad?” Harry asks, and he knows he's heard this story a million times already, always asking his mum to tell it to him when he was little, but he never really payed attention to the details, and he wants to be absolutely sure Zayn even had the slightest chance of being right before he brings this theory to his mother.

She grins broadly at him, probably because he hasn't asked to hear the story in so long, and even though Harry could probably recite it verbatim, he keeps quiet and  _ really _ listens this time. He mentally ticks off each detail that matches up: the love at first sight she felt when she first saw him, they way she felt a spark when he brushed up against her arm. The only detail that's different is the fact that her tail glowed when they held hands for the first time, not her heart.

“How do you know when you’ve met your true love?” Harry asks tentatively when she's finished telling the story. He tries to make it sound hypothetical, and he must do a good job of it because Anne only smiles.

“Well, it starts with love at first sight, and then there’s a type of spark when you touch for the first time, but you can always tell because your tail glows,” she replies, reiterating what Harry already knows. There’s a pause before something dawns on her and she begins hammering him with questions. “Why? Did your tail glow? Have you met your true love?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” Harry says. “My tail didn’t glow, but my heart did.”

“Are you sure it did?” Anne asks and Harry nods. She doesn’t hate humans nearly as much as his father does, but if she’s shocked or surprised that Harry basically just admitted to spending time on land, talking to humans and the fact that his true love might be Niall, she doesn’t show any signs of it. “Oh, love,” she says softly, her eyes looking teary as she pulls Harry into a tight hug. “That’s wonderful.”

“So Zayn was right, Niall is my true love?” Harry asks, and this time it’s Anne’s turn to nod, pressing her palm to Harry’s cheek. “And you’re not mad?”

“Mad about what?” Anne asks, tilting her head in confusion.

“I just told you that my true love is a human,” Harry says, like he’s trying to get her to understand the strangeness of this whole situation, but she only smiles again. There’s still a part of him that thinks this is all in his head, that it’s only a matter of time before she starts scolding him like Zayn did, but he knows that’ll definitely happen if his father ever finds out.

“I can’t be mad about who you’re destined to be with,” Anne says, her voice shaky with the tears Harry knows she’s holding back. “I’m just happy that you finally met… Niall, was it?”

Harry nods, relaxing a bit while Anne just keeps a knowing smile on her face, and something finally occurs to Harry. “Did Zayn tell you?” he asks and the guilty look on her face answers Harry’s question before her nod does. He’s not surprised that Zayn told her, but he’s not mad; he knows Zayn’s just been looking out for him, and he appreciates that - always will. “You knew I’ve been going on land this whole time?” Anne nods again. “And you didn’t say anything?”

Anne shakes her head this time. “You seemed so happy, and I remember being that happy after I met your father, so I already had a feeling you met someone special before Zayn told me.”

“I did. I really like him, mum,” he repeats his earlier statement to Zayn, Anne's smile never faltering as she pats lightly at his cheek.

“So, when do I get to meet -” she starts, but is cut off by a familiar voice that Harry really hoped he wouldn’t run into today.

“Harry, m’boy, I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages!” his father crows, swimming over to the two of them and clapping Harry hard on the back. “Where’ve you been spending all your time?”

Harry hesitates, his nerves suddenly returning as he mumbles, “Exploring.”

His father nods slowly, keeping a curious eye on him, like he’s trying to catch Harry in a lie. “Has any of that exploring been done on land?” He has to keep his face calm as his chest tightens, ready to yell at Zayn for going behind his back and revealing his secret to both of his parents, but he thinks if that was true, his father would not have kept this information to himself for long. The expression on his father's face suddenly changes. “Yes, I know about your little trips on land, and I can't believe you would disobey me like this. I forbid you to go back there.”

“No!” Harry says. “You don't understand, I  _ have _ to go back.”

“Why?” his father asks. “What's more important up there than down here? Harry, there is nothing for you on land, I've told you this a thousand times, why won't you listen?”

“Because you're wrong! Humans are nothing like you think they are. They already know about the existence of mermaids,” Harry says urgently. A new fire has ignited inside of him, to defend the world above them. He's never felt the need to until now, now that he's met someone worth fighting for.

His father laughs shortly. “And you think that changes anything?”

“Yes, because my true love -”

“Harry,” his father cuts over him, his voice firm, “you won't find true love on land.”

“But -” he tries again.

“I don't want to hear it, Harry!” his father bellows.

“- I did,” he finishes.

“That's absurd,” his father scoffs.

“It's true,” Anne suddenly pipes up, and Harry's father looks between the both of them, probably thinking he's in the middle of some elaborate joke and he's waiting for one of them to confess.

“It is not, and I forbid you to go back there,” he says again, and Harry's already tired of hearing it. His father can forbid him all he wants, but he won't let anything or anyone come between him and Niall. “You should not be interacting with humans. What if they find out what you are?”

“They already have, and they don't care!” Harry shouts. He doesn't mean to yell, but he's trying to get his father to understand and listen.

“What?” his father bellows back. “You revealed yourself to humans?”

“No I didn't,” Harry says, his voice returning to its normal tone. “They found out on their own. I told you, they already know about us.”

“No,” his father says shortly. “They know about  _ you _ , and that's why I can't let you go back there.”

“I can't do that,” Harry says, his voice going much quieter. He's going to go back on land whether his father likes it or not, and he's trying to convey that so his father can accept it. “My true love is up there -”

“Enough!” Harry's father yells. “Your true love does not live on land!”

“Yes he does!” Harry says, trying to keep his voice from rising again. “My heart glowed, dad.”

Harry doesn't know what he did, but now his father seems to have finally listened. He seems at a loss for words as the realization settles in, but his face is still stern when he says, “Well, true love or not, I just can't let you go back up there, it's too dangerous.”

“Is that really rational, dear?” Anne asks, forcing her husband to look at her. “He's our son, we can't keep him away from who he's meant to be with.”

“But he's human,” his father says, and Harry can't quite read his tone. He just takes it as a good sign that it's not harsh, and he's stopped yelling.

Anne tries for a laugh. “I think you're the only one here who cares.”

He turns to Harry who nods. “I love him, dad,” Harry says, and he realizes it's the first time he's said that out loud, but it couldn't be more true, “and I know he's my true love, let me prove it to you. If I'm wrong then I'll come back and you can say you were right and I'll never go back, but please, just let me go see him one more time.”

Harry's father's gone silent, and usually that's not a good sign, but Harry can see his resolve slowly slipping away, and he and Anne both turn to him, anxiously anticipating what he's going to say next. Eventually he sighs and says, “You're right, I can't stand between you and your true love, so go, be with the one you love.” He even musters up a smile that Harry doesn't think he's seen in years. He pulls Harry into a hug and tells Harry how much he loves him and is happy for him before he pulls away so Anne can also hug him, and then he's gone.

He's sure he can feel his heart beating faster the closer he gets to the beach - the closer he gets to Niall.

-

When Harry gets to the beach, it's so quiet that he almost doesn't think Niall's there, but then he can hear music playing. He remains hidden, just so he can listen without interrupting Niall. It sounds beautiful, he thinks, and the more he listens to it, the more it almost sounds familiar, like he's heard it before. He thinks he's imagining it, but then Niall starts  _ singing _ and Harry's pretty sure his heart stops beating.

That's the song he heard the day before he met Niall. He finally solved the mystery and he can't believe it was Niall this whole time.

“It was you,” Harry whispers and Niall turns around with a start, his hand clutching his chest.

“Harry?” He glances down to see Harry climbing up to join him on the rock. “What are you talking about?”

“The song,” Harry says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

“The song?” Niall repeats, confused. “What about it? Actually, never mind about the song, are you okay?” He looks worriedly at Harry, and Harry's sure he can see how flushed his face is and how hard he's breathing with how fast he swam here, but he can't worry about that now.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Harry says dismissively, even smiling for good measure, but Niall still seems skeptical. “My father found out about us and about me coming here, but it's a long story and I don't want to talk about him. Can you play that song again?” Niall just stares at him, still looking slightly concerned. “Please? You have a lovely voice.”

A grin breaks through Niall's worried expression and he smiles shyly, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “You think so?”

“Yeah, I heard you before and the song kind of stuck with me,” Harry says. “I really liked it, and I never thought I'd figure out who sang it, but now I did.”

“You liked it that much?” Niall asks and Harry nods. “Well, I could play something else for you, if you like?”

Harry nods again eagerly and Niall flashes him another small smile before he looks down at the instrument in his hands, which Harry assumes is the guitar Niall talks so much about. It's just as beautiful as the first time he heard Niall playing, and he closes his eyes so he can just listen to the softness of Niall's voice against the crashing of the waves.

It feels like Niall plays for hours, Harry transfixed by the way Niall's fingers move across the strings and how Niall steals a few glances at Harry every now and then, grinning when he sees Harry swaying along to the music, but eventually he stops, looking away from Harry as he picks at a loose thread on his jeans. “I wasn't sure if you'd come back,” he admits quietly.

Harry frowns, even though Niall's still looking away from him. “Why? I said I would, and I'm here now.”

“I know, but I thought I might've scared you off by trying to kiss you,” Niall says, and he seems afraid that Harry might leave now, but that's the last thing Harry wants to do. Now that he's here, he doesn't ever want to leave.

“You didn't,” Harry says honestly, scooting a few inches closer to Niall. “I actually do want to kiss you.”

“You do?” Niall asks, finally looking back up to Harry, who nods. Niall takes that as his cue and moves even closer, staring straight into Harry's eyes it makes his heart skip several beats. Niall's hand tentatively curls around Harry's cheek, and they both begin to lean in slowly, but it's Harry who closes the distance between them, pressing his lips softly against Niall's.

Niall seems a bit surprised at first by Harry's sudden movement, but he easily melts into Harry. The kiss is gentle and firm all at the same time, and it's everything Harry imagined it would be, if not more. He's almost sure he can feel his chest lighting up again, warming his whole body.

Harry's breathless when Niall pulls away and they just stare at each other for a long moment before Harry sees Niall's eyes wander down his body, and then they widen.

“Harry,” Niall says, pointing down to Harry's tail, and Harry thinks it must be glowing or something but when he looks down, he's shocked when he doesn't see a tail at all, but a pair of legs. “What happened to your tail?”

Harry's now breathless and speechless as he reaches down and touches his new appendages. He has  _ legs _ . He wiggles his toes, trying out the movement and watches them flex and unflex as if they're not really apart of him, but he knows they are when he feels the hardness of the rock underneath them. His mother must've left out a very important detail about what happens when your true love is human. “I don't know,” he says, climbing down from the rock to feel the sand between his toes for the first time. “But this feels amazing.”

And it does, the sand is soft where it pushes between his toes, but he's still a bit unsteady on his new feet, so Niall climbs down from the rock and holds Harry's hand to keep him upright. They walk toward the ocean where Harry can feel the water lapping at his ankles and the sand becomes denser under his feet. He feels that warm sensation in his chest again and when he looks down, his heart is glowing once more, and Harry's not sure, but he thinks it may be even brighter this time.

“What is happening?” Niall asks, looking even more confused than ever. “First you grow legs and now your chest is glowing again, what does this mean? Am I dreaming?”

Harry shakes his head, pulling Niall closer and tangling their fingers together, Niall's palm a warm, comforting weight in Harry's. “It means you're my true love.”

“True love?” Niall asks. “I thought that only existed in movies.”

“What's a movie?” Harry asks, and Niall just shakes his head, laughing fondly as he kisses Harry again.


End file.
